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contributors Tamar Adler (“Lunch @ Your Desk,” page 62) is a Brooklyn-based food writer. She has worked as a personal chef and cooked professionally at Prune in • My breakfastof choice is... my mom’s homemade granola and yogurt. • My latest fooddiscovery is... that in a pinch, rice with peanut butter and hot sauce is delicious. lemongrass in Laos. Corinne Trang (“Authentic Pad Thai,” page 76) is a Connecticut-based author of several cookbooks, including Essentials of Asian Cuisine and Noodles Every Day. She is a frequent television and radio guest, writes for numerous national food publications, and teaches cooking classes internationally. • Thedish Imostwant tolearn tocook is... the perfect Moroccan squab b’steeya. • If Iweren’t a cookbook author, I’dbe... a food-obsessed standup comedian. • My least favorite foodis... fast food; take it off the market, please. sTaff spoTlIghT Fine Cooking associate food editor Samantha Seneviratne (“Watermelon,” page 46) is also our resident food stylist. She is a graduate of the French • My guilty foodpleasure is... eating the delicious, mushy vegetables that are strained out of homemade stock. • My biggest food-relatedpetpeeve is... pre-ground pepper. I used to carry a pepper grinder in my purse, but it got too messy. Culinary Institute and an avid baker. • My favorite herb or spice is... cinnamon. It comes from Sri Lanka, just like me. 10 fine cooking • june/ july 201 1 New York City and Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Her first book, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace, comes out in October. • Thestrangest thing I’ve ever eatenwas... whole grilled cockroaches stuffed with Christina Tosi (“Strawberry Shortcake,” page 82) began her career in the kitchens of New York City restaurants Bouley and wd-50. She’s now the pastry chef and co-owner of Manhattan’s Momofuku Milk Bar. of ice cream—all for myself. • Themostoverratedingredient is... vanilla bean (sorry). • My favorite foodsplurge is... a whole pizza, a 2-liter bottle of Coke, and a pint • If Iweren’t a pastry chef, I’dbe... a crazy arts-and-crafts lady. Known for her whimsical desserts, cookbook author and food stylist Karen Tack (“Strawberry Shortcake,” page 82) co-wrote with Alan Richardson The New • Thestrangest thing I’ve ever eatenwas... crickets. They weren’t bad tasting, but I York Times best-seller Hello, Cupcake! and its follow-up, What’s New, Cupcake? Their newest book, Cupcakes, Cookies, and Pie, Oh My!, is due out in February. couldn’t get past the legs; you just know they’re bug legs. • My least favorite foodis... any low-fat version of a full-fat ingredient. • My breakfastof choice is... leftovers. An all-time favorite? Chili over noodles. Vermont-based food writer Rowan Jacobsen (“A City Slicker in the Kitchen,” page 34) has written several books, including the James Beard Award- winning A Geography of Oysters, and American Terroir, named one of the top 10 books of 2010 by Library Journal. His latest book is Shadows on the Gulf: A Journey Through Our Last Great Wetland. • My favorite foodmemoryis... eating alligator ceviche with cacao vinegar under a passionfruit trellis in the Bolivian Amazon. • My guilty foodpleasure is... Pringles. • Thelast thing I cookedwas... “moonviewing noodles.” They’re cooked in broth, topped with a poached egg, and eaten under a full moon. It’s a Japanese tradition I’ve adopted. Cindy Mushet (“Rice Pudding,” page 30) has been a pastry chef, baking instructor, and cookbook author for more than 20 years. She teaches at Le Cordon Bleu • Three itemsthat are always inmy refrigerator orpantry are... chocolate, Edel Rodriguez (“The Summer Beer,” page 26), a native of Cuba, is an awardwinning New York Citybased illustrator. His art has appeared in The New York Times, Time magazine, and The New Yorker, and is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. • My desert island foodis... chorizo and cheese arepas. • My favorite aspectofmy job is... that I can take a nap whenever I want. • Threeitemsthat arealways inmypantry are... Nutella, Café Bustelo, and cereal. • If Iweren’t a cookbook author, I’dbe... a window display designer. • Thelast thing I atewas... rice pudding. quince, and goat cheese. • Currently, I’m obsessed with... creating a foolproof recipe for fortune cookies. after seeing Julie & Julia to make Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon. Rhonda Parkinson (“Woks,” page 32) is a food writer from western Canada. She has written five cookbooks, including The Everything Chinese Cookbook. • My favorite foodmemoryis... when my nonfoodie husband was inspired enough • Themostunderratedingredient is... lard. in Los Angeles. Her cookbook, The Art and Soul of Baking, won the International Association of Culinary Professionals award for best baking book in 2009. Photographs from top left by olivia Sargeant, courtesy of corinne Trang, julissa Roberts, gabriele Stabile, Alan Richardson, christian johnston, Mary elder jacobsen, Bronson Photography, Anthony Parkinson